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Apple is looking into reports of iPhone 8 batteries swelling

October 6, 2017
by Natasha Lomas (@riptari)

Reports from a few iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus buyers have suggested there could be an issue with the battery inside some of the devices swelling, causing the case of Apple’s new iPhone to split open and expose the smartphone’s internals.

Apple has now confirmed it is looking into it, although a spokeswoman declined to comment further when asked how many devices are affected.

From what we’ve heard the number of reports so far is very few.

Source: The Liberty Times

Yesterday CNET rounded up the handful of reports that have emerged — saying there are at least six different reports in at least five countries of the iPhone 8 splitting along its seams.

Today Reuters also noted a report in Chinese state media of an iPhone buyer claiming a newly purchased iPhone 8 Plus arrived cracked open on October 5, though apparently without any signs of scorching or an explosion.

Apple rival Samsung had big problems with smartphone batteries in its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone. In that instance some Note 7 batteries caught fire, and the problem was extensive enough that it led Samsung to recall all Note 7 handsets — at great expense.

In the case of the iPhone 8 the issue appears to be limited to batteries bloating/swelling, rather than catching fire — at least as reported so far.

Although the phone only went on sale on September 22 so it’s still early days for the device.

Apple did not release figures for the first weekend sales of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, as it has in the past with new iPhones, so it’s also not yet clear how many of these handsets are in the hands of buyers at this point.

Some analysts have suggested consumers may be holding off on upgrading their iPhone to buy the top-of-the-range iPhone X, which Apple also announced at the same time, but with a later release date.

Pre-sales for the iPhone X are due to begin on October 27, with the handset slated to ship on November 3.

Now on to more news and views.

Wayne County, Illinois

Emergency Radio Communications Wireless Messaging Critical Messaging Two-way Radio Technology Telemetry Science Paging Wi-Fi

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This doesn't mean that nothing is ever published here that mentions a US political party—it just means that the editorial policy of this newsletter is to remain neutral on all political issues. We don't take sides.

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There is no charge for subscription and there are no membership restrictions. Readers are a very select group of wireless industry professionals, and include the senior managers of many of the world’s major Paging and Wireless Messaging companies. There is an even mix of operations managers, marketing people, and engineers — so I try to include items of interest to all three groups. It’s all about staying up-to-date with business trends and technology.

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Still Looking For 2 Glenayre Power Supplies

A reader needs two Glenayre power supplies for UHF transmitters.

Power supply is a Quintron/Glenayre QT5700 or QT6700. (Thanks to Harvey Coffman of Ayrewave Electronics for help in identification.)

Can you help? E-mail me here.

Some people think that if you are not in favor of more gun control after the terrible shootings in Las Vegas, then you don't have any sympathy for the families of those who were killed or those people who were wounded. Please read my comments in the THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK section, near the end of this newsletter.

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Extreme Networks +5.6% after forging direct purchase deal with Brocade Oct. 3, 2017 9:40 AM ET By: Jason Aycock SA News Editor

Ed Meyercord

• Extreme Networks (NASDAQ: EXTR) — facing a delay in its acquisition of the data center networking business of Brocade Communications (NASDAQ:BRCD) from Broadcom (AVGO -0.3%) — will now acquire the business directly from Brocade.
• Extreme shares have jumped out of the open, up 5.6%. Brocade has moved up 1.2%.
• The new deal is at substantially the same terms as the previous deal. Extreme had expected to close its part of the deal within 2-3 days of a completed Broadcom/Brocade deal, which the companies expected to close during Brocade's Q4.
• Brocade and Broadcom have extended their agreement and expect the acquisition to be completed by Nov. 30 (subject to CFIUS clearance).
• “We expect this agreement directly with Brocade to accelerate our ability to close our acquisition of the data center business,” says Extreme CEO Ed Meyercord. The company still expects the deal to be accretive to cash flow and earnings for fiscal 2018 and forecasts more than $230M in annualized revenue from the new assets.

THE IPHONE DIDN'T EMERGE FROM NOTHING. HERE'S WHAT CAME BEFORE IT

AUTHORS: ANTHONY BRANDT AND DAVID EAGLEMAN
GEAR 10.03.1711:00 AM

In the 1970s, British inventor Kane Kramer developed the schematics for a portable digital music player. KANE KRAMER

ON JANUARY 9, 2007, Steve Jobs stood on the MacWorld stage in his jeans and a black turtleneck. “Every once in a while, a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything,” he declared. “Today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone.”

The Runaway Species: How Human Creativity Remakes the World, by Anthony Brandt & David Eagleman CATAPULT

Even after years of speculation, the iPhone was a revelation. No one had seen anything like it: here was a communication device, music player, and personal computer that you could hold in the palm of your hand. The media hailed it as trailblazing, almost magical.

Bloggers called it the “Jesus phone.” The introduction of the iPhone was characteristic of great innovations: they come at us unexpectedly, with novelty that seems to have come from nowhere. But, despite appearances, innovations don’t come from nowhere.

But, despite appearances, innovations don’t come from nowhere. They are the latest branches on the family tree of invention. Research scientist Bill Buxton has curated a collection of technological devices for decades, and he can lay out the long genealogy of DNA that has forged a path to our modern gadgets. Consider the Casio AT-550-7 wristwatch from 1984: it featured a touchscreen that allowed the user to finger-swipe digits directly onto the watch face.

Ten years later—and still thirteen years before the iPhone—IBM added a touchscreen to a mobile phone.

The Simon was the world’s first smart phone: it used a stylus and had a collection of basic apps. It was able to send and receive faxes and emails, and had a world time clock, notepad, calendar, and predictive typing. Unfortunately, not many people bought it. Why did the Simon die? In part because the battery lasted only one hour, in part because mobile phone calls were so expensive at the time, and in part because there was no ecosystem of apps to draw upon. But just like the Casio touchscreen, Simon left its genetic material in the iPhone that followed “from nowhere.”

Twenty-two years after Kramer’s idea, Apple debuted the iPod. KANE KRAMER

Four years after the Simon came the Data Rover 840, a personal digital assistant that had a touchscreen navigated in 3-D by a stylus. Contact lists could be stored on a memory chip and carried around anywhere. Mobile computing was gaining its footing.

Looking through his collection, Buxton points to the many devices that paved the way for the electronics industry. The 1999 Palm Vx introduced the thinness we’ve come to expect in our devices today. “It produced the vocabulary that led to the super thin stuff like today’s laptops,” Buxton says. “Where are the roots? There they are, right there.”

Step by step, the groundwork was being laid for Steve Jobs’ “revolutionary” product. The Jesus phone didn’t come from a virgin birth after all.

A few years after Jobs’ announcement, the writer Steve Cichon bought a stack of timeworn Buffalo News newspapers from 1991. He wanted to satisfy his curiosity about what had changed. In the front section, he found this Radio Shack advertisement.

STEVE CICHON/BUFFALO STORIES ARCHIVES

Cichon had a revelation: every item on the page had been replaced by the iPhone in his pocket. Just two decades earlier, a buyer would have spent $3,054.82 for all this hardware; they were now taken care of by a five-ounce device at a fraction of the cost and material. The ad was a picture of the iPhone’s genealogy.

Groundbreaking technologies don’t appear from nowhere—they result from inventors “riffing on the best ideas of their heroes,” as Buxton observes. He likens Jonathan Ive, the designer of the iPhone, to a musician such as Jimi Hendrix, who often “quoted” other musicians in his compositions. “If you know the history and pay attention to it, you appreciate Jimi Hendrix all the more,” Buxton says.

In a similar vein, science historian Jon Gertner writes:

“We usually imagine that invention occurs in a flash, with a eureka moment that leads an inventor towards a startling epiphany. In truth, large leaps forward in technology rarely have a precise point of origin. At the start, forces that precede an invention merely begin to align, often imperceptibly, as a group of people or ideas converge, until over the course of months or years (or decades) they gain clarity and momentum and the help of additional ideas and actors.”

Like diamonds, creativity results from pressing history into brilliant new forms. Consider another of Apple’s breakthroughs: the iPod.

In the 1970s, piracy was a major issue in the record industry. Retailers could return unsold albums to a record company for a refund; many took advantage of this to send back counterfeit copies instead. In one case, two million copies of Olivia Newton-John’s album Physical were printed, and in spite of the album topping the charts, an astounding three million copies were returned.

To stop the rampant fraud, British inventor Kane Kramer came up with an idea. He would develop a method to transmit music digitally across phone lines, and an in-store machine would custom-print each album. But then it occurred to Kramer that a cumbersome machine might be an unnecessary step. Instead of producing an analog record, why not keep the music digital and design a portable machine that could play it? He developed the schematics for a portable digital music player, the IXI. It had a display screen and buttons for playing the tracks.

BILL BUXTON

Kramer not only designed the player, he foresaw a whole new way of selling and sharing digital music with unlimited inventory and no need for warehouses. Paul McCartney was one of his first investors. The main drawback of Kramer’s music player was that, given the hardware available at the time, it only had enough memory to hold one song.

Seizing on Kramer’s promising idea, Apple Computer’s engineers incorporated a scroll wheel, sleeker materials, and, of course, more advanced memory and software. In 2001—twenty-two years after Kramer’s idea—they debuted the iPod.

Steve Jobs would later say:

“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it. They just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while; that’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things.”

CATAPULT

Kramer’s idea did not come out of nowhere, either. It followed in the footsteps of the Sony Walkman, a portable cassette player. The Walkman was made possible by the invention of the cassette tape in 1963, which was itself made possible by reel-to-reel tapes in 1924, and so on back through history, everything emerging from the ecosystem of innovations before it.

Human creativity does not emerge from a vacuum. We draw on our experience and the raw materials around us to refashion the world. Knowing where we’ve been, and where we are, points the way to the next big industries. From studying his collection of gadgets, Buxton concludes that two decades typically pass before a new concept dominates in the marketplace. “If what I said is credible,” he told the Atlantic magazine, “then it is equally credible that anything that is going to become a billion dollar industry in the next ten years is already ten years old. That completely changes how we should approach innovation. There is no invention out of the blue, but prospecting, mining, refining and then goldsmithing to create something that’s worth more than its weight in gold.”

From The Runaway Species: How Human Creativity Remakes the World. Used with permission of Catapult. Copyright 2017 by Anthony Brandt and David Eagleman.

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MAC 911
By Glenn Fleishman, Senior Contributor, Macworld
OCT 4, 2017 3:44 PM PT

HOW-TO

macOS High Sierra: Startup SSD volume must be APFS; other drives can wait

Some Macworld readers are concerned about upgrading to macOS High Sierra, which offers the new APFS (Apple File System) that replaces the nearly 20-year-old HFS+ file system. APFS offers a lot of advantages for SSD performance and durability, as well as encryption for any type of drive. But it’s not backwards compatible with older versions of OS X or macOS.

You’re required to upgrade any SSD startup volume when you install High Sierra—there’s no way to prevent it. There was a choice to bypass migrating to APFS while installing High Sierra during the beta period. However, Apple removed that checkbox for the final release. (An earlier version of this article misstated that the checkbox remained. My apologies.)

This shouldn’t be a problem, because it’s unnoticeable, but it might be a reason for you to delay moving to High Sierra if you have an SSD boot partition and want to make sure no APFS issues emerge for other people. It’s rarely a bad idea to wait for macOS 10.X.1 or even 10.X.2.

Apple isn’t automatically upgrading Fusion drives, the combination of SSD and hard disk drive (HDD) that it’s popularized for higher-capacity systems, because SSDs remain quite expensive above 512GB. Apple hasn’t said exactly when a Fusion APFS upgrade will be ready. However, we expect that because there’s no upgrade choice for APFS with High Sierra, the Fusion upgrade will also be mandatory when it ships.

How to upgrade to APFS in Disk Utility

If you want to upgrade an external SSD to APFS, you can do so via Disk Utility. Disk Utility also supports external hard drive conversion, but there’s no advantage, so I’d recommend against it at this time.

1. Launch Disk Utility.
2. Select the boot partition in the list at left. (Don’t select the parent hard drive.)
3. Choose Edit > Convert to APFS.
4. Click Convert at the prompt.
5. A progress bar appears. Click Done when completed.

If Apple doesn’t require an APFS upgrade for Fusion drives, you should have the option to upgrade later, which would simply require booting into the Recovery Disk on your Mac (restart and then hold down Command-R) and launching Disk Utility from there, and then following steps 2 to 5 above.

However, I’d recommend holding off converting even qualified external drives that you don’t use for booting a Mac, as you won’t see enough of an advantage, while losing backwards compatibility with macOS prior to Sierra, which is the only previous release that can read and write to APFS volumes.

Note: An earlier version of this article relied on a feature only available in late beta to choose whether to upgrade an SSD boot volume to APFS. The article has been updated to remove that error. Our apologies.

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Rumor: Sprint, AT&T And Verizon Will Sell BlackBerry Motion

October 6, 2017 — Written By Mark Real

Industry insider, Roland Quandt, is claiming that the BlackBerry Motion will be available on three major carriers in the United States. Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint will sell the handset, according to the rumor, although the rumor does not specify when the device will actually be launched by the carriers. In comparison, the BlackBerry KEYone is currently available on Sprint and AT&T but it took several months before the device arrived in the carrier’s stores. Mr. Quandt also mentioned that aside from China, the dual SIM variant of the BlackBerry Motion will be sold in a number of countries, although he did not mention which markets exactly will receive the unit. The insider also noted in another tweet that the upcoming handset will run the same ROM as the BlackBerry KEYone, albeit it will be modified to accommodate the lack of physical keyboard.

BlackBerry Motion has been leaked recently in a tweet by @evleaks, and it seems that the device will be a successor to the BlackBerry DTEK60, well, sort of. The BlackBerry Motion’s display will likely have an aspect ratio of 16:9, and below it is a physical home button that contains the logo of the Canadian smartphone company. A fingerprint scanner is likely embedded in the home button. At the bottom part of the handset, a USB type-C port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and loudspeaker can be found. The right side of the device will contain three buttons, which will likely be the power button, volume rocker, and the convenience key, that is primarily used for jumping across different applications quickly.

The software features of the two smartphones will likely be the same since both the BlackBerry Motion and the BlackBerry KEYone will likely run the same ROM, aside from features that were exclusive to a physical QWERTY keyboard that the Motion does not sport. The device’s skin will be somewhat similar to stock Android, though do keep in mind that stock Android will not be present here, the BlackBerry Motion will ship with BlackBerry’s very own skin, just like the BlackBerry KEYone. The BlackBerry Hub, which comes pre-installed with the KEYone, will likely be present with the upcoming handset.

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Amateur Radio Volunteers in Puerto Rico Meet a Variety of Communication Needs

The ARRL Letter for October 5, 2017

The Amateur Radio volunteers who deployed as American Red Cross volunteers to Puerto Rico as part of the “Force of 50” this past weekend have been focusing their efforts where their help is most needed. ARRL CEO Tom Gallagher, NY2RF, said the volunteers, in general, will provide communications for local law enforcement and utility managers, island-to-mainland health-and-welfare traffic, and contact with the island's more remote areas.

ARRL Emergency Preparedness Manager Mike Corey, KI1U, said arriving volunteers initially gathered at the Convention Center in San Juan, which is now serving as Puerto Rico Emergency Management Agency (PREMA) Headquarters. Their first night, a local church offered accommodations, he said, and volunteers slept on pews that had been pushed together.

Since the storm struck Puerto Rico on September 20, ARRL Section Manager Oscar Resto, KP4RF, and other volunteers have staffed VHF and HF nets at the American Red Cross temporary headquarters in San Juan, despite damage to their own homes. The 24/7 net covers nearly two-thirds of the island and has been handling traffic to and from the power company, Autoridad de Energía Eléctrica (Electric Power Authority — AEE), and state and local authorities. The electric distribution infrastructure suffered extreme storm damage, and only about 9% of customers have power. Twelve team members were assigned to provide communication for engineers involved in repairing power distribution centers.

An Amateur Radio station has been installed and an operator embedded at the Puerto Rico Emergency Operations Center (PREOC). Radio amateurs also were asked to establish VHF communication capabilities at 51 hospitals throughout the island, so they can have direct contact with the EOC.

Volunteer Val Hotzfeld, NV9L, told ARRL in an October 4 update that the team on the ground has recruited three local hams to handle Amateur Radio communications at hospitals in Jayuya, Humacau, and Caguas. “They were on site and began handling hospital traffic today,” she said in her October 4 situation report. “We successfully received and forwarded traffic from three hospitals needing water and fuel.”

Puerto Rico volunteers and local hams alike have successfully passed “lots of traffic” to net control, which has been forwarded on to the appropriate agencies. Some examples included getting an oxygen tank to a nursing home resident and insulin to a diabetic youth.

“My station will be QRT for a long time,” said Alfredo (Al) Velez Ramos, WP3C/NP4DX.

A local radio amateur was recruited to handle hospital communications at Centro Medico. “This is the main hospital on the island and needs communication to handle transfers from the other hospitals and medical centers,” she said. The Puerto Rico team has begun checking with hospitals to see which ones have telephone service, before dispatching additional operators.

Hotzfeld said they've received a request from AEE, which operates the precarious Guajataca hydroelectric dam, to deploy another operator to the dam and assist those fixing the channel that delivers water to about 350,000 in the Quebradilla and Isabella area. “We are now also being tasked with doing the same for all the police departments in Puerto Rico,” she added. “We are gathering information on roads that are open from the EOC and providing it to the Red Cross for their missions.”

The Amateur Radio liaison at the EOC is working with federal officials to co-locate Amateur Radio repeaters on tower sites now being restored to improve communication island-wide. The volunteer team was approached by the Southern Baptist disaster team to discuss the possibility of utilizing a few of their team members who hams to help with communication tasks.

A FEMA vehicle navigates a muddy back road, where trees and foliage have been stripped bare. [FEMA photo]

Volunteers Jeremy Dougherty, NS0S, and Bobby Price, KB4ROR, are in Yauco. “We installed our rigs in the fire truck and gave them our handhelds. It left us no other radio for local contact,” the pair reported on October 3. They reached out to Marcos Pereda, KP3CA, in Yauco, who loaned the team his FTM-100DR.

They didn't have an antenna that would offer sufficient range, so they improvised, fashioning a “tape measure” five-element Yagi, using supplies from a local hardware store and a coax jumper from their extra HF radio. “We installed everything and made contact with N5TGL and N0CSM, who are 50 miles away, [using] the repeater between us,” they said.

There have been problems filling resource requests from remote areas of the island. A message was relayed on WinLink by Juan Sepulveda, KP3CR, from volunteer team members in Mayagüez on behalf of Lares Mayor Roberto Pagán, who had put out an urgent call for water for the town of some 5,000.

Volunteers Jeremy Dougherty, NS0S (left), and Bobby Price, KB4ROR, and their tape-measure Yagi.

According to one FEMA official, the White House situation room is extremely pleased and enthusiastic about the service Amateur Radio volunteers are providing in Puerto Rico.

An HF station with Winlink capability and a VHF/UHF station have been set up in the FEMA disaster field office, and volunteers have been reporting in by radio from around the island to post situation reports. Four volunteers were positioned to accompany and provide VHF communication at Red Cross distribution centers on a daily basis. Two volunteers also were sent to Culebra Island to establish VHF and HF communication there, the first since the storm.

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Friday, October 6, 2017	Volume 5 | Issue 196

Mexican Carriers Come to the Aid of Puerto Rico

In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, Puerto Ricans are “exasperated” by the patchy cell service of AT&T Inc, T-Mobile US Inc, and Sprint Corp. That’s why many were turning to Claro Puerto Rico, a subsidiary of America Movil owned by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, Reuters reported on Monday.

Eleven days after Maria hit, Claro, the island’s number two cellular operator, had restored service to approximately 310,000 customers. Claro prepared prior to the storm with power generators, diesel, batteries, and vehicles ready 72 hours before Maria struck, according to the account. U.S.-based carriers also pre-staged equipment too, and have been shipping supplies on planes and ships. Carriers are coordinating service restoration efforts and opening their networks to each other’s customers, activating a roaming service so people can connect to whatever network is available.

AT&T, which has 36 percent of the island’s active wireless customers, according to the account, stated Thursday its temporary cell sites were carrying nine million calls and five million texts per day. Sprint said its towers are “largely intact,” Inside Towers reported.

T-Mobile is making progress with repairs and service but noted that “it’s going to be a long road to recovery.” Verizon does not have its own network in Puerto Rico, providing service through a roaming agreement with Claro, reported Reuters.

The FCC reported 84.6 percent of cell sites in Puerto Rico were out of service as of Thursday morning. That compares to 88.3 percent as of Monday. The island’s mostly destroyed power grid is a big part of the problem.

Wireless Communication Solutions

USB Paging Encoder

• Single channel up to eight zones
• Connects to Linux computer via USB
• Programmable timeouts and batch sizes
• Supports 2-tone, 5/6-tone, POCSAG 512/1200/2400, GOLAY
• Supports Tone Only, Voice, Numeric, and Alphanumeric
• PURC or direct connect
• Pictured version mounts in 5.25" drive bay
• Other mounting options available
• Available as a daughter board for our embedded Internet Paging Terminal (IPT)

Paging Data Receiver (PDR)

• Frequency agile—only one receiver to stock
• USB or RS-232 interface
• Two contact closures
• End-user programmable w/o requiring special hardware
• 16 capcodes
• POCSAG
• Eight contact closure version also available
• Product customization available

Other products

Please see our web site for other products including Internet Messaging Gateways, Unified Messaging Servers, test equipment, and Paging Terminals.

Contact

Hark Technologies 717 Old Trolley Rd Ste 6 #163 Summerville, SC 29485

Tel: 843-821-6888

Fax: 843-821-6894

E-mail: sales@harktech.com CLICK

Web: http://www.harktech.com CLICK

A Problem

The Motorola Nucleus II Paging Base Station is a great paging transmitter. The Nucleus I, however, had some problems.

One of the best features of this product was its modular construction. Most of the Nucleus' component parts were in plug-in modules that were field replaceable making maintenance much easier.

One issue was (and still is) that two of the modules had to always be kept together. They are called the “matched pair.”

Motorola used some tricks to keep people in the field from trying to match unmatched pairs, and force them to send SCM and Exciter modules back to the factory for calibrating them with precision laboratory equipment.

The serial numbers have to match in the Nucleus programing software or you can't transmit [in simulcast mode] . Specifically the 4-level alignment ID parameter contained in the SCM has to match the Exciter ID parameter.

Even if someone could modify the programing software to “fudge” these parameters, that would not let them use unmatched modules effectively without recalibrating them to exact factory specifications.

So now that there is no longer a Motorola factory laboratory to send them to, what do we do?

I hope someone can help us resolve this serious problem for users of the Nucleus paging transmitter.

Please let me know if you can help. [ click here ]

[Thanks to Tom Harger Chief Engineer at Contact Wireless for the correction above in red. ]

Selected portions [sometimes more — sometimes less] of the BloostonLaw Telecom Update and/or the BloostonLaw Private Users Update — newsletters from the Law Offices of Blooston, Mordkofsky, Dickens, Duffy & Prendergast, LLP — are reproduced in this section of The Wireless Messaging News with kind permission from the firm. The firm's contact information is included at the end of this section of the newsletter.

REMINDER: 911 Reliability Certification Due in Two Weeks

All entities that provide 911, E911, or NG911 capabilities directly to a public safety answering point (PSAP), statewide default answering point, or appropriate local emergency authority, or that operate one or more central offices that directly serve a PSAP, are required certify that they have taken reasonable measures to provide reliable 911 service with respect to three substantive requirements: (i) 911 circuit diversity; (ii) central office backup power; and (iii) diverse network monitoring. This certification must be made through the FCC’s web portal by October 16.

BloostonLaw Contacts: Mary Sisak and Sal Taillefer.

Headlines

FCC Announces Tentative Agenda for October Open Meeting

On October 3, the FCC released the tentative agenda for the FCC’s October Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, October 24. At the meeting, the FCC will tentatively consider:

• Support for Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands: an Order to clarify the use of high-cost universal service support and permit forward funding of support to aid in reconstruction of telecommunications networks damaged by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. (WC Docket No. 10- 90)
• Exemption to Calling Number Identification Service: a Report and Order that would enable law enforcement and security personnel to obtain quick access to blocked Caller ID information needed to investigate threatening calls. It also would amend the Commission’s rules to allow non-public emergency services, such as private ambulance companies, to obtain blocked Caller ID information associated with calls requesting assistance. (CC Docket No. 91-281)
• Nationwide Number Portability: a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Notice of Inquiry that proposes to amend the Commission’s rules and seeks comment on industry models to move toward complete nationwide number portability, to promote competition between all service providers and increase network routing efficiencies. (WC Docket No. 17-244; WC Docket No. 13-97)
• Promoting Investment in the 3550-3700 MHz Band: a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would seek comment and propose changes to the Priority Access License rules in the 3550-3700 MHz (3.5 GHz) band to increase incentives for investment, encourage more efficient spectrum use, and promote faster and more widespread network deployments. (GN Docket No. 17-258)
• Hearing Aid Compatibility and Volume Control: a Report and Order and Order on Reconsideration on hearing aid compatibility (HAC) that would update the volume control standard for wireline telephones, extend wireline HAC requirements to cover telephones used with advanced communications services, adopt a volume control rule for wireless handsets, and delete from the Commission’s rules an obsolete wireless HAC standard. (CG Docket No. 13-46, WT Docket Nos. 07- 250, 10-254)
• Part 43 Reporting Requirements for U.S. Providers of International Services: a Report and Order that would: (1) eliminate the Traffic and Revenue Reports and (2) streamline the Circuit Capacity Reports. (IB Docket Nos. 17-55 and 16-131)
• Elimination of Main Studio Rule: a Report and Order eliminating the rule that requires each AM, FM, and television broadcast station to maintain a main studio located in or near its community of license. (MB Docket No. 17-106)
• Updates to Rules Governing Ancillary/Supplementary Services and Broadcast Public Notices: a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that seeks comment on updates to Section 73.624(g) of its rules, which imposes certain reporting obligations for broadcasters relating to the provision of ancillary or supplementary services, and Section 73.3580, which requires public notice of the filing of broadcast applications, including through newspapers. (MB Docket Nos. 17-264, 17-105)

Each summary above contains a link to the draft text of each item, including a one-page cover sheet. As always, Open Meetings are streamed live at www.fcc.gov/live and can be followed on social media with #OpenMtgFCC.

BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and John Prendergast.

BloostonLaw Files Comments in FCC’s Wireless Renewal Proceeding

On October 2, BloostonLaw filed comments to the FCC’s Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“FNPRM”) in connection with the FCC’s proposal to establish additional construction and/or service requirements for wireless licensees at each ensuing license renewal. In brief, the BloostonLaw submitted that while additional buildout and take back requirements may be appropriate for larger licenses, a different approach is required for licenses held by rural carriers who primarily serve rural America. This is because unique factors in rural America, such as low population density, low priority in the equipment distribution chain, significantly higher construction and backhaul costs, and other factors dictate a more reasonable approach. Unique considerations for private users dictate a more flexible approach as well.

BloostonLaw pointed out that the FCC should not retroactively implement any additional construction and/or service requirements beyond that which was adopted in the underlying Second Report and Order. This is especially true for rural service providers and private user licensees. Doing so would impose undue financial burdens on these entities that were not previously contemplated as they developed their business plans prior to acquiring their licenses. Otherwise, the FCC may actually jeopardize their ability to provide service. For any licensees to which additional construction obligations ultimately apply, such requirements should be phased in at the end of the next full license term.

If additional buildout obligations are not met, the consequence for rural service providers and private users should not be a loss of all or part of their license, but instead a requirement to negotiate in good faith if any entity wishes to lease or partition areas that remain unserved. If the FCC nonetheless decides to reclaim unserved areas, rural service providers should be able to exclude “ultra-rural” areas from any take-back process. Similar considerations apply to private internal use operations using auctioned spectrum. Further, any measures to reclaim spectrum should not result in the outright cancellation of licenses if a bona fide service is being provided to the public or if the licenses is being used to meet private internal communications needs. To the extent that unserved areas are reclaimed, such process should leave the incumbent an adequate buffer so that they do not have to curtail service in order to protect new licensees.

BloostonLaw is currently reviewing the comments that were filed by other interested parties in this proceeding. Reply comments will be due Monday, October 16, 2017.

BloostonLaw Contacts: John Prendergast and Richard Rubino

Democrats Announce Plan to Invest $40 Billion in Internet Deployment and Development

On September U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Jon Tester (D-MT), Joe Manchin (D-WV), and Ed Markey (D-MA) joined U.S. Representatives Cheri Bustos (IL-17), Terri Sewell (AL-07), Rick Nolan (MN-08), and Ann Kuster (NH-02) in introducing a component of their “Better Deal” agenda relating to broadband funding. The “Universal High-Speed Internet” agenda item “proposes to bring high-speed, affordable internet to every American by investing $40 billion in federal dollars to build the kind of broadband infrastructure that will finally connect communities that have been left behind by the big internet service providers.” According to the press release, the plan would also “upgrade the nation’s critical safety infrastructure and create accurate maps of areas that lack adequate internet access in order to ensure rural Americans are not left out.” Proponents of the agenda stated that they will fight for this funding in any infrastructure or appropriations package moving in 2017 or 2018.

Specifically, the press release states that this plan would invest at least $40 billion in direct federal funding using the following principles:

• Provide Direct Federal Support for a Universal Internet Grant Program to Close the ‘Last Mile’ Gap: These new funds would be used to bring high-speed internet infrastructure to areas most in need of quality, affordable service. Support would be distributed on a technology- and provider-neutral basis, and would be designed to secure high-speed internet at levels sufficient for the 21st Century in the most efficient and cost effective means possible. The program would also have broad eligibility so that partners like rural co-ops, local governments, or other alternative entities could compete on an equal playing field with private sector providers.
• Create Accurate Maps of Areas that Lack Adequate Internet Access: Funding would go toward complete and reliable service maps that accurately represent the real-world consumer experience.
• Deliver Internet Speeds Needed to Compete in the 21st Century: Speed requirements would be forward-looking, and funding would only go toward modern speeds.
• Upgrade the Nation’s Critical Safety Infrastructure: Grants would be made available to states and localities to upgrade critical public safety infrastructure, and implement Next Generation 9-1-1.

The “Better Deal” agenda is a take on President Roosevelt’s New Deal, which included the 1936 Rural Electrification Act. An official summary of the “Universal High Speed Internet” item can be found here.

BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Sal Taillefer.

FCC Reminds VPDs to Make Televised Emergency Info Accessible to Viewers with Disabilities

On September 28, the FCC issued a Public Notice reminding video programming distributors (VPDs) – including broadcasters, cable operators, satellite television services, and “any other distributor of video programming for residential reception that delivers such programming directly to the home” – of their obligation under section 79.2 of the Commission’s rules to make televised emergency information accessible to persons with disabilities. Unlike the closed captioning obligations contained in section 79.1 of the rules, there are no exemptions to the emergency information requirement.

Under section 79.2, emergency information is defined as “[i]nformation, about a current emergency, that is intended to further the protection of life, health, safety, and property, i.e., critical details regarding the emergency and how to respond to the emergency.” Examples include “tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, tidal waves, earthquakes, icing conditions, heavy snows, widespread fires, discharge of toxic gases, widespread power failures, industrial explosions, civil disorders, school closings and changes in school bus schedules resulting from such conditions, and warnings and watches of impending changes in weather.” Critical details include, but are not limited to “details regarding the areas that will be affected by the emergency, evacuation orders, detailed descriptions of areas to be evacuated, specific evacuation routes, approved shelters or the way to take shelter in one’s home, instructions on how to secure personal property, road closures, and how to obtain relief assistance.”

The rules require different methods of ensuring access for different types of disabilities, such as the blind or visually impaired; the deaf or hard of hearing; and those with cognitive disabilities. VPDs with questions about meeting this requirement should contact the firm for more information.

BloostonLaw Contacts: Gerry Duffy and Sal Taillefer.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Confirmed for Second Term

On October 3, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm sitting FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to new five-year term. According to Reuters, Pai won confirmation by 52-41 over objections from Democrats, who criticized him for moving to deregulate U.S. telecommunications rules. Republicans praised him for taking steps to boost rural internet service, with Senator John Thune praising Pai’s proposal to withdraw the 2015 Open Internet Order and corresponding rules. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer criticized Pai for having “a clear record of favoring big corporations at the expense of consumers, innovators, and small businesses.”

BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens and John Prendergast.

Law & Regulation

Correction: Comments on ICC Reform and Streamlining Complaint Process Due October 26

On September 27, the BloostonLaw Telecom Update incorrectly reported that the comments for (i) the FCC’s Public Notice seeking comment on further reform to intercarrier compensation regimes, and (ii) the FCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on “creating a uniform set of procedural rules for certain formal complaint proceedings delegated to the Enforcement Bureau and currently handled by its Market Disputes Resolution Division and Telecommunications Consumers Division are due on October 28. The correct deadline for the Public Notice and the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is October 26.

The Public Notice invites interested parties to update the record on (1) the network edge for traffic that interconnects with the Public Switched Telephone Network, (2) tandem switching and transport, and (3) transit (the non-access traffic functional equivalent of tandem switching and transport).

The NPRM proposes to streamline and consolidate the procedural rules governing formal complaints filed under Section 208; pole attachment complaints filed under Section 224; and formal advanced communications services and equipment complaints filed under Sections 255, 716, and 718 (Disability Access complaints).

Carriers interested in participating in either proceeding should contact the firm for more information.

BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and John Prendergast.

Reminder: Form 323 Filing Window Opens December 1

On September 1, 2017, the FCC released an Order postponing the opening of the 2017 biennial filing window and extending the 2017 biennial filing deadline for the submission of broadcast ownership reports on FCC Form 323 (Ownership Report for Commercial Broadcast Stations) and FCC Form 323-E (Ownership Report for Noncommercial Broadcast Stations). Pursuant to that Order, the Bureau will begin accepting 2017 biennial ownership reports on Form 323 (commercial stations) and Form 323-E (noncommercial stations) on December 1, 2017. Broadcast licensees and other entities required to file biennial ownership reports on Form 323 or Form 323-E must file their 2017 reports by March 2, 2018. These reports must provide information current as of October 1, 2017.

Beginning with the 2017 biennial filing window, all licensees of AM, FM, TV, Class A, and Low Power Television (LPTV) stations and entities with attributable interests in such stations must complete and submit biennial ownership reports on the revised versions of Forms 323 and 323-E in the FCC’s Licensing and Management System (LMS). More filing guidance will be available at a later date. At this time, licensees and other entities must continue to submit required non-biennial ownership reports on the existing versions of Forms 323 and 323-E in the Consolidated Database System (CDBS) as these reports become due. The Bureau will announce when licensees and other entities must begin submitting non-biennial ownership reports on the LMS versions of Form 323 and Form 323-E.

FCC Seeks Comment on Accessible User Interfaces Deadline for Small MVPDs

On September 28, the FCC’s Media Bureau issued a Public Notice initiating its review of the marketplace for channel navigation devices with accessible user interfaces and program guides and menus, to determine whether the December 20, 2018 compliance deadline for mid-sized and smaller multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) should be retained or extended. Comments are due October 30, and reply comments are due November 13.

Under the FCC’s 2013 Order adopting rules to implement the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA), MVPDs that lease or sell navigation devices, among others, are responsible for ensuring that on-screen text menus and guides provided by set-top boxes and other such devices for the display or selection of multichannel video programming must be audibly accessible in real time upon request by individuals who are blind or visually impaired, if achievable. In addition, navigation devices with built-in closed captioning capability must include a mechanism that is reasonably comparable to a button, key, or icon for activating the closed captioning. MVPDs are also required to ensure that individuals with disabilities are aware of the availability of accessible navigation devices and have ready access to information and support that will allow them to operate such devices.

The deadline to meet these requirements was originally December 2016, but the FCC moved it back for mid-sized or smaller MVPDs until December 2018. The instant Public Notice seeks comment on whether further extension is warranted.

BloostonLaw Contacts: Gerry Duffy and Sal Taillefer.

Industry

FCC Issues Twentieth Report on Wireless Competition

On September 27, the FCC released its Twentieth Report and Analysis of the competitive market conditions with respect to mobile wireless, including commercial mobile services. According to the Report, the FCC did not conduct a full market definition or market power analysis, but rather “consider[ed] a number of facts and characteristics of the provision of mobile wireless services,” which the FCC concluded indicate effective competition. The report also finds that as of December 2016, approximately 98 percent of the population living in non-rural areas was covered by at least four service providers, while only approximately 70 percent of the population living in rural areas was covered by at least four service providers. AT&T covered approximately 97 percent, Verizon Wireless covered approximately 93 percent, T-Mobile covered approximately 79 percent, and Sprint covered approximately 64 percent of the rural population with wireless service. Only approximately 57 percent of the rural population was covered by at least four LTE service providers.

A full copy of the 95 page report can be found here.

Chairman Pai Calls Upon Apple to Activate FM Chips

On September 28, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai released the following statement today calling on Apple to activate the FM chips that are in iPhones to promote public safety:

“In recent years, I have repeatedly called on the wireless industry to activate the FM chips that are already installed in almost all smartphones sold in the United States. And I’ve specifically pointed out the public safety benefits of doing so. In fact, in my first public speech after I became Chairman, I observed that ‘[y]ou could make a case for activating chips on public safety grounds alone.’ When wireless networks go down during a natural disaster, smartphones with activated FM chips can allow Americans to get vital access to life-saving information. I applaud those companies that have done the right thing by activating the FM chips in their phones.

“Apple is the one major phone manufacturer that has resisted doing so. But I hope the company will reconsider its position, given the devastation wrought by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. That’s why I am asking Apple to activate the FM chips that are in its iPhones. It is time for Apple to step up to the plate and put the safety of the American people first. As the Sun Sentinel of South Florida put it, ‘Do the right thing, Mr. Cook. Flip the switch. Lives depend on it.’” [Please see following response from Apple.]

Deadlines

OCTOBER 16: 911 RELIABILITY CERTIFICATION. Covered 911 Service Providers, which are defined as entities that “[p]rovide[] 911, E911, or NG911 capabilities such as call routing, automatic location information (ALI), automatic number identification (ANI), or the functional equivalent of those capabilities, directly to a public safety answering point (PSAP), statewide default answering point, or appropriate local emergency authority,” or that “[o]perate[] one or more central offices that directly serve a PSAP,” are required certify that they have taken reasonable measures to provide reliable 911 service with respect to three substantive requirements: (i) 911 circuit diversity; (ii) central office backup power; and (iii) diverse network monitoring by October 15. Certifications must be made through the FCC’s portal.

BloostonLaw Contacts: Mary Sisak and Sal Taillefer.

NOVEMBER 1: FCC FORM 499-Q, TELECOMMUNICATIONS REPORTING WORKSHEET. All telecommunications common carriers that expect to contribute more than $10,000 to federal Universal Service Fund (USF) support mechanisms must file this quarterly form. The FCC has modified this form in light of its decision to establish interim measures for USF contribution assessments. The form contains revenue information from the prior quarter plus projections for the next quarter. Form 499-Q relates only to USF contributions. It does not relate to the cost recovery mechanisms for the Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) Fund, the North American Numbering Plan Administration (NANPA), and the shared costs of local number portability (LNP), which are covered in the annual Form 499-A that is due April 1.

BloostonLaw Contacts: Gerry Duffy and Sal Taillefer.

Calendar At-A-Glance

October
Oct. 10 – Comments are due on Form 477 revision.
Oct. 10 – Comments are due on the Competition in Video Programming Report.
Oct. 13 – Reply comments are due on Slamming NPRM.
Oct. 16 – 911 Reliability Certification
Oct. 18 – Reply comments are due on Connect America Phase II auction procedures.
Oct. 24 – Reply comments are due on Form 477 revision.
Oct. 26 – Comments are due on Intercarrier Compensation Reform Public Notice.
Oct. 26 – Comments are due on Streamlining Complaint Processes NPRM.
Oct. 30 – Comments are due on UI accessibility compliance deadline.

November
Nov. 1 – FCC Form 499-Q (Quarterly Telecommunications Reporting Worksheet) is due.
Nov. 1 – Reply comments are due on Mid-Band Spectrum NOI.
Nov. 9 – Reply comments are due on the Competition in Video Programming Report.
Nov. 13 – Extended deadline for EAS test participants in Hurricane areas to file ETRS Form Two.
Nov. 13 – Deadline for EAS test participants to file ETRS Form Three.
Nov. 13 – Reply comments are due on Intercarrier Compensation Reform Public Notice.
Nov. 13 – Reply comments are due on Streamlining Complaint Processes NPRM.
Nov. 13 – Reply comments are due on UI accessibility compliance deadline.

December
Dec. 1 – Biennial Ownership Report filing window opens (Form 323 and 323-E).
Dec. 31 – Carriers receiving CAF Phase II funding must complete deployment to at least 40 percent of supported locations in each state (the interim build-out milestone).

Oops...

Update: MacRumors has received the following statement from an Apple spokesperson:

“Apple cares deeply about the safety of our users, especially during times of crisis and that's why we have engineered modern safety solutions into our products. Users can dial emergency services and access Medical ID card information directly from the Lock Screen, and we enable government emergency notifications, ranging from Weather Advisories to AMBER alerts. iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 models do not have FM radio chips in them nor do they have antennas designed to support FM signals, so it is not possible to enable FM reception in these products.”

emphasis added

Brad Dye, Ron Mercer, Allan Angus, Vic Jackson, and Ira Wiesenfeld are friends and colleagues who work both together and independently, on wireline and wireless communications projects.

Click here for a summary of their qualifications and experience. Each one has unique abilities. We would be happy to help you with a project, and maybe save you some time and money.

Note: We do not like Patent Trolls, i.e. “a person or company who enforces patent rights against accused infringers in an attempt to collect licensing fees, but does not manufacture products or supply services based upon the patents in question.” We have helped some prominent law firms defend their clients against this annoyance, and would be happy to do some more of this same kind of work.

Some people use the title “consultant” when they don't have a real job. We actually do consulting work, and help others based on our many years of experience.

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“If you would know the road ahead, ask someone who has traveled it.”
— Chinese Proverb

Wireless Network Planners
Wireless Specialists

R.H. (Ron) Mercer Consultant 217 First Street East Northport, NY 11731
Telephone: 631-786-9359
www.wirelessplanners.com
wirelessplannerron@gmail.com

My Thoughts on The Shooting In Las Vegas

My heart goes out to the friends, families, and witnesses of the terrible killings in Las Vegas that took place this week. Horrible events like this will have life-long effects on everyone involved.

Words cannot adequately express the depth of pain being experienced or the intensity of the emotions felt by all the people that this tragedy has impacted.

When physical pain has passed and the body has healed, we can remember the pain but it doesn’t hurt us again. But physic pain is different. Long after the event that caused it, the memory can resurface and cause as much (or even more) pain than when it first happened.

When I saw my brother accidentally kill himself with a rifle while we were hunting together 48 years ago, I had to reevaluate my beliefs about gun ownership. My brother and I were taught to hunt by our father who was taught to hunt by his father, and he by his father, etc. We were taught gun safety—to be very careful—but the accident happened anyway. He had even taken a firearm-safety course.

My conclusion then was—and to this day continues to be—that accidents can happen and taking a stand against gun control would be just as senseless as taking a stand against automobiles since many people die each year in traffic accidents. I still drive and I still own a gun.

How many people are killed by guns each year in the US?

“All shootings: Some 13,286 people were killed in the US by firearms in 2015, according to the Gun Violence Archive, and 26,819 people were injured [those figures exclude suicide].” [source]

Arrogant and incompetent doctors and nurses kill more people each year than crazy people with guns. (Not my local doctor, I have a very good one.)

My brother-in-law is a doctor and my sister is a nurse. They are both retired now and I am sure that they were outstanding in their abilities and in their care of patients. Please don't misunderstand me. I know that most of our medical professionals are very good—but not all of them!

I am just trying to point out that guns are not the cause of these killings. If you could eliminate all the firearms in the USA in the blink of an eye, the crazies would start using bows and arrows, eliminate those weapons and they would go back to knives and swords. Take the knives and swords away and they would use rocks! Remember Cain and Abel?

I understand the emotions involved as well as anyone. This is unforgettable sorrow. These mass murders make me feel physically sick.

I found these stats with Google:

“Medical errors” in hospitals and other health-care facilities are incredibly common and may now be the third-leading cause of death in the United States—claiming 251,000 lives every year, more than respiratory disease, accidents, stroke and Alzheimer’s.” [source]

[source]

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and this is mine. I don't consider my comments to be political since neither US political party is in complete agreement on the issue of gun control.

Bradley F. Dye, October 2, 2017.

Start With Yourself

When I was young and free and my imagination had no limits, I dreamed of changing the world. As I grew older and wiser, I discovered the world would not change, so I shortened my sights somewhat and decided to change only my country.

But, it too, seemed immovable.

As I grew into my twilight years, in one last desperate attempt, I settled for changing only my family, those closest to me, but alas, they would have none of it.

And now as I lie on my deathbed, I suddenly realize: If I had only changed my self first, then by example I would have changed my family.

From their inspiration and encouragement, I would then have been able to better my country and, who knows, I may have even changed the world.

Author Unknown

Biko • Playing For Change Band • Live in New York

Playing For Change
Published on Aug 17, 2017

“You can blow out a candle but you can't blow out a fire, once the flames begin to catch the wind will blow it higher.” This summarizes the Playing For Change movement in which individuals can and will create a better world together. Enjoy this moving performance from the PFC Band recorded live at their recent show at the Highline Ballroom in New York City.

This is a tribute to all the forgotten heroes of the past who stood for peace and the enlightenment of the human spirit. “The eyes of the world are watching now.”